Spc. Welin Almonte, crew chief, watches from the gunner seat as they fly in south Afghanistan. / THE LEAF-CHRONICLE/GREG WILLIAMSON

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FORWARD OPERATING BASE, AFGHANISTAN. — The men and woman of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade who fly travel daily from FOB to FOB.

They take soldiers, commanders and personnel to where they need to be. They fly low over homes and small villages and mountain tops.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rey Lopez and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Tim Schwanke started their day being briefed and getting orders of their flight pattern covering the south of RC East.

This is their first deployment with the 101st as pilots. “Its been a real experience,” said Schwanke.

This is his third deployment. The first two were as an infantry soldier with 10th Mountain. This deployment is the shortest one he has done. “Which is defiantly a good thing, but different,” Schwanke said, as he now thinks about his 2-year-old son, Caleb.

These pilots fly at about 10,000 to 11,000 feet, which one might believe is a safe height. However, there is still the risk of popping over a mountaintop or flying through a ridge and being seen by insurgents. “The aircraft feels different at these high altitudes, though we try to take the safest route to everything,” said Lopez, adding that with snow, mountaintops can also cause problems with depth perception.

While landing over FOB’s, they will pass directly over villages, so close you can see the residents’ eyes, yet not knowing if they are friend or foe. “The indirect fire is the worst I have ever seen,” said Schwanke.

Refueling can be problematic at times, they explained, as the enemy fires 122mm rockets in the area.

Despite the hazards, however, both pilots made it clear they love to fly. “I love to fly out a soldier going home,” said Lopez.